SYRACUSE -- There's sticker shock at the airport.
Debra Wilkins of Liverpool, who travels every few weeks for business, has definitely noticed. She says, "It's really kind of scary that prices continue to go up and even with the prices going up, they're charging you for luggage, they charge you for meals and it's totally ridiculous I feel."
Prices are not only going up for travelers heading out of Syracuse but across the country. As vice president of air service development at CenterState CEO in Syracuse, Kevin Schwab works to attract air carriers to Central New York. He says the average price for a flight in Syracuse is $377 for a round trip ticket. While that is up, he says rates are not going up as fast as they are in other Upstate cities like Buffalo, Rochester and Albany.
"Air fares are definitely up across the industry," Schwab said. "We've seen a number of fare increases take hold really over the course of the last 6 to 8 months and the reason is rising fuel prices."
Schwab says his organization is working with the airlines to increase capacity. If more seats are available, the airlines won't have to charge as much for fewer seats. The violence in the Middle East has pushed up the price of oil and if it continues there are fears prices will keep climbing. So even those who have to travel for business are reconsidering how to get where they need to go.
There are things travelers can do to get the best price possible. Schwab says start looking early, look often and be flexible.
"When I say be flexible, maybe you can leave a day earlier, come back a day later vice versa, look across multiple airlines, look across multiple search engines," Schwab said.
